http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , China , Shandong , Qingdao en-us Fri, 05 Dec 2008 03:27:55 UTC Fri, 05 Dec 2008 03:27:55 UTC We were at the lab part of the day just working on a manuscript for another graduate student but that stuff really isnrsquot the good stuff. It was everything else that is more fun. We left for Qingdoa today which is the hometown of the professor Irsquom working with here in China. Qingdao is along the Pacific Ocean and is also where the sailing portion of the Olympics was held. There we http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-350941.html I decided to escape Tianjin for a weekend about halfway through our stay to checkout the annual Qingdao International Beer Festival located in Qingdao China. After arriving at the train station my friend Ben and I walked down to the beach and had a look at the surrounding area. After that we headed up through the lsquoold townrsquo to find our hostel. The German influence on the town wa http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-341134.html Diving in Qingdao To be frank the weather in Qingdao is not very good for surfingat least itrsquos not an ideal pleace to surf.This year the Olympic regatta games have almost canceledbecause the wind is not strong enough to hold sailing games at allHowever the wind suddenly become strong just 2 days before the regatta games begun.Well I do not have good luck like th http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-335733.html I am back in China and it feels great There are two reasons for coming back here 1 I want to do a crazy plank walk on the south peak of Hua Shan a mountain close to the city of Xi'an and 2 as I want to avoid flying as much as possible on my trip and my next stop is Vietnam going through China from Korea is the only way to get there really.So I arrived in China in the seaside city of Qingda http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-334203.html Considering the excitement and strain of my 42 hour hardseat journey I arrived in Qingdao in good form eager to stretch my legs and eager to get to the beer.I love beer. This is a simple and salient fact. I worry about people who don't like beer. Even more I worry about people who worry about me because I loooove beer. I am not an alchey I am a person who appreciates that the finer things http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-333840.html Seat Number 63hao car 14Price of ticket 281 RMB 40USDMoney saved by no sleepers being available 200 RMBHours on Train 42Noodle Pots eaten 1Pages of Book read 210Games of Du Di Zhu 25Guazi eaten 263Provinces crossed 6Friends made 132.7Being the coolest guy on the train PRICELESSOver a year ago I love saying that towards the beginning of my travels I had the extreme pleasure of ineb http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-330548.html Our next destination was a good old fashioned traditional holiday destination. We were headed for the coastal town of Qingdao which is famed for three things it plays host to a number of Chinarsquos best beaches for those of you who love watching sailing on TVwho doesnrsquot the Olympic sailing is taking place here it was formerly inhabited by Germanrsquos and finally and most impor http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-301816.html Luckily for me I met a guy who knew Qingdao really well the night before and he was an American Scottie is an aeronautics specialist from Missouri who has been teaching English at QU for the last 3 years and his mom came over to teach as well within the last year. They took me to an international church that is held in a big banquet hall on the top story of the Haixin Dasha Hisense Bldg. You h http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-297391.html This morning we took the bullet train from Beijing to Qingdao. The ride took 6 hours and would have taken 11 by regular train so I didn't complain. I was really jetlagged and tired on this ride so I didn't snap as many pictures as I would have liked but I still got a few of the countryside. I had my camera locked up in my bag at the station so I didn't get any pictures of Beijing station either http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-297381.html 9 more daysI have booked my ticket to Chengdu on 18th July.Before that I gotta cram for the examsAnd then my summer vacation will beginI have dreamed the last moment for the whole yaerbut I am really stressed when the moment coming.It's like a gambleyou gotta pick and choose areas of guess and focus what will be on the exams.It's always a gamble actually.What's moreit's will add more stress http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-297360.html From the Shanghai area my plan was to travel north to Shandong province then head east to Xian the pottery soldiers and wiggle my way north with some important stops along the way to Beijing the final leg. Around the first of May is a humungous holiday in China when half of China moves one way and the other half the other. I am a firm believer in not getting entangled in these events http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-286085.html Hello again my blog readers. I apologize for my long lapse in not publishing blog entries. A combination of factors is to blame. Partially it is just me being lazy but also the pace of my travels slowed down a lot for a while. I decided to take it easy for a couple of weekends because my travel companions Matt and Michelle scheduled a few trips that I did not really want to go on. Not too much http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-283277.html China has a history of being forced to conceed certain areas of its land to colonial powers. Although many may be aware of British French and Japanese territories I was suprised to learn that the Germans had a concession of land as well. Qindao is located on the East coast of China on the Yellow Sea across from Korea. It is a strategic location and is China's 4th largest port.Germany invaded http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-274990.html Went to Qingdao for a weekend trip to see some ocean and get away from the smog and bustle of Dongying. The weather turned out to be pretty nice. Qingdao is famous for its beer and beaches the former coming by the plastic bagful if you are so inclined. No comments in this one just pictures Enjoy http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-262666.html Though it just like dreamingmy friend who hasnrsquot seen for many show up againHa ha.Though Portia just spent 2days in Qingdaowe had a lot of wonderful timeI felt uncertain and unconfident when I roaming in Qingdao 3years agobecause I am a totally stranger to this citybut now my Australian friends who I met in Dali is walking with me.I think they wonrsquot feel uncertain like I did thre http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-258001.html We finally set out on our travels to Japan on 9th after having packed up house in Tairsquoan and sent everything we didnrsquot need for travelling on to Nanjing. This involved quite an involved and baroque session at the Post Office and we are hugely grateful to Emma Jack and Gene for their interpretation and help with sewing up the postbags. We waved goodbye to everyone were advised by http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-241779.html Hardly believe that I can cycle in the Velodrome65288Bycicle Stadium65289againThe trip to Rizhao remind me my short time in Sports Academy when I was in Yunnan.Soon after my right knee was badly injured I quit the Sports Academy. quitting the sports academy is a good choice so farbecause my knee even donrsquot recovered completely so far .However I can here my inner voice I still wanna http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-224226.html Welome to my blog My name is JackieI am a sunny Chinese boymy hometown is in Yichang where Three Gorges is in Hubei province in Chinaand now I am studying in QingdaoTsingtao University in Shandong provinceI like travelling and I like making friends too .Welcome to my blogand I AM LOOKING FORWARD YOUR REMARKS TOOthank you http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-216110.html Three years Even though I have been in a coastal cityQingdao three years.I haven't been so happy excitedI have never found so much fun in the sea. I am from southwest China my hometown is wedged between Mt.Cangshan and Erhai lake a fresh water lake2000 .I had not saw the sea until I attempted my university in Qingdao 3years ago . when I was 19years oldI saw the sea for the first http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-214221.html I can hardly believe that I have got the chance to surf again Still in the Old stoneman beach in Qingdao.Those friends from California also come to teach us todayIt's really exciting to do soafter that day's surf I think I have almost made it to stand on the surf broad with my two feetThe waves are stronger than yesterday'sso I didn't need to paddle very much .I can feel the water pushin http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-213104.html WowIt's my fist time surfing in my lifeYesterday 11 surfers from California come to Qingdao to teach Chinese students surf .I have watched surf on television for hundred times but I have never tried before .So it's such a surprise when an American told me about this one day before.I met all the American surfers at their hotel this morning and then led they to the coach which took us to the old http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-212471.html Holiday week falls disconcertingly early. We were just getting settled in our first year students had just finished their mandatory twoweek military training seems to consists mostly of learning the basics of marching popular military songs and a little camping on the side and had had their first week of actual classes and then there's a holiday and it all stops for a week. Odd. So we we http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-210774.html On Monday June 18th I went to the seaside city of Qingdao for a few days with my friends Jen and Claire. What started as a lovely getaway to the sea ended up a bit of a disaster. I'll start at the beginning. The train ride to Qingdao is only 2.5 hours we chatted and slept along the way. The train station in Qingdao is near the water in a prime location. Unfortunately it's being entirely http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-198541.html gtgtgtWritten and posted laterltltltLast night one of my roommates was really sick. Evidently it was pretty serious because she and her boyfriend went to the hospital. It was 300 AM.I took the bus to the train station and got there right before they opened the gate for people to get on the train. I was at a table with two chairs on one side and three on the other. The two chairs http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-196890.html This afternoon I went to the Beer Fest. Or the Qingdao International Beer Festival if you want to be specific. It was quite a spectacle. Some highlights were the Chinese woman singing the ldquolonely goatherdrdquo song and two men juggling hats and catching them on their heads etc. There was a certain brand of chuanr being sold where all the guys selling it were dancing to music blaring http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-196270.html gtgtgtThis entry was posted later because the wireless was down last nightltltltTherersquos an elderly woman who has a morning routine of walking around in the park around the hostel and warming up her vocal cords. She does this by screechingyelling repeatedly at the top of her lungs. I wonder howwhy she decided she ought to do that. Maybe itrsquos an old family secret. Maybe http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-196090.html Today I checked out some shops geared toward souvenirhunting tourists and was largely disappointed. The highlight of today was visiting Number Six Bathing Beach as the sun was setting. I took some pictures there focusing on the Huilan Pavilion which appears on Tsingtao Beerrsquos label.My twonight streak of having the dorm to myself is broken. Three guys moved in this afternoon. I never http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-195621.html Today I went to see the beer factory. I also went in search of tea. In the evening I visited various street markets. My favorite street market seems to be open all day. Therersquos lots of food for sale there and it smells really good. The night markets seem to have an overabundance of underwear. But therersquos also plastic trinkets galore and other miscellaneous stuff. Therersquo http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-195393.html Today I walked along the Seaside Sightseeing Pathway until just past Number One Bathing Beach. I made a stop in Lu Xun Park which was cool. It even had a sculpture of him. I also got to admire the Xiao Qingdao Lighthouse. It has that name because itrsquos on little xiao island dao. Qingdao can be translated as ldquogreen islandrdquo by the way. Qing can also mean blue or black. http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/China/Shandong/Qingdao/blog-195070.html